Dubai: Changing one’s diet during Ramadan with a focus on eating more fruit and vegetables and drinking less caffeine, is ideal to remain healthy and energised, a nutritionist has said.

This year’s Ramadan, when Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink from sunrise until sundown, is set to be uncomfortable as it falls during September – at the tail-end of the hot and humid summer season.

Kelly Lynch, dietitian at Welcare World’s City Hospital, told Gulf News that many tended to consume “incorrect foods” during Ramadan.

“People often complain about symptoms such as constipation, gastric acidity and increased cholesterol during fasting. These symptoms are all due to people eating the incorrect foods,” she said. She said this is due to breaking the fast with high-fat foods, especially saturated animal fats, salt and refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and sugary foods.

These contribute to high cholesterol levels, while constipation is caused by dehydration and inadequate fibre intake. She advised people to consume one to two pieces of fruit after each meal, in addition to hummus and vegetables, to gain their vitamins, water and fibre.

“Any vegetable-based foods are good for you as long as they are not fried in fats and oils – salads like tabouleh and couscous are all healthy alternatives to fast foods,” she said.

Drinking less coffee is also advisable. Coffee, she said, is a diuretic and can further dehydrate a person. Coffee addicts, she suggested, should switch to tea as it contains less caffeine.

The Academic Staff College under University of Kerala will be conducting a orientation programme (IT oriented) for college teachers from 11 Oct to 7 Nov. More details including application form can be had from http://www.ugcasc.keralauniversity.edu/ Applications accompanied by the certificate of principal concerned will have to reach the Director, Academic Staff College, Golden Jubilee Building, University of Kerala, Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram – 695581 on or before 15 September.

Medical researchers are exploring different explanations for the various forms of autism but no single cause has yet been ascertained.

Autism is a neurological disorder defined as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal, non-verbal communication, and social interaction usually evident by age three that significantly affects a child’s educational performance.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health between 2 and 6 per 1,000 people have some form of autism. It occurs four times more commonly in boys than girls.

Symptoms

* Engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements * Resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines * Unusual response to sensory experiences, examples: loud noises, light, certain textures of food or fabric * Communication problems (using and understanding language) * Difficulty relating to people, objects, and events * Unusual play with toys and other objects * Children with autism vary widely in ability, intelligence, and behaviour * Nearly 40-50% with autism do not talk * Others often use a language that include repeated phrases or conversations

Diagnosis

Diagnosis should be made by a professional experienced in the evaluation of children with developmental disorders (clinical psychologist, pediatric neurologist etc).

Diagnosis is based on the history of the child’s development provided by those who know the child well, as well as clinical observation of the child No blood tests or brain tests conclusively identify the presence of autism. No definitive diagnosis can be made before age three. Autism is also frequently accompanied by mental retardationMedical researchers are exploring different explanations for the various forms of autism but no single cause has yet been ascertained.

Current research links autism to biological and neurological differences in the brain, and to the sufferer’s genes. Licensed psychologists can administer tests that are specially designed to look at a child’s problem solving skills without language. Tasks include – matching pictures, sort by category, remember series of pictures, duplicate design with blocks etc.

A certified speech language pathologist (SLP) can evaluate a child’s ability to use these kinds of non – verbal communication like looking, pointing, gesturing, or making sounds.

Medication

No medication can cure autism, and no one medication is recommended for individuals with autism Medicines are helpful only for specific target symptoms associated with autism like aggression towards self and others, seizures etc.

Behaviour modification techniques and functional analysis of the child’s problems are taught to parents through education and discussion by the therapist.

Dr Varsha DuttaThe author is a clinical neuropsychologist, BGS Global Hospitals and can be contacted on 9986113090

Among the new programmes IGNOU plans to launch next year is one on Intellectual Property Rights

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is exploring the educational avenues opening up in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR) and cyber laws.

The university has come up with a two-year Master’s programme in IPR in collaboration with reputed Indian institutes and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. The objective of the course is to develop awareness, knowledge and practical skills in IPR issues. The programme aims at promoting a new brand of IPR lawyers and supporting professionals in the emerging world order. In addition to legal skills, the acquisition of in-depth knowledge and scholarship are the other features of the course.

The course will provide insights into the national and international scenario in areas of IPR. Various issues related to IPR like laws related to patents, protection of plant varieties, geographical indications, copyright, trademarks and industrial designs, will be part of the course.

The course will commence in January 2009. Students from all over the world are eligible for enrolment. Students who pass the first year of the Master’s programme at IGNOU will be eligible to proceed to QUT to complete the second year of the Master’s programme in IP Law and obtain both IGNOU and QUT degrees.

In cyber laws, the university is offering a Postgraduate Certificate programme based on self-learning instructional material with multimedia and teleconferencing support.

The main objective of the course is to give the learners a critical understanding of cyber laws in the emerging world in the light of social and intellectual property issues. It focusses on how to address the rapid changes in the field of information technology (IT). The course would have immense scope in dealing with consultancy in e-security, digital signatures, cryptography and so on.

The course has been designed keeping in view the fact that cyber crimes are a new class of crimes in India. The programme will have four compulsory courses, which range from cyber technology and social issues, regulation of cyberspace and commerce and cyberspace to privacy and data protection. Graduates in any discipline can enrol for the course.

The medium of instruction will be English. The fee is Rs.5,000. The first batch of this course began in July.

B.Tech.

IGNOU is also launching a four-year B.Tech. course in aeronautical engineering. The delivery of the programme will be through face mode coupled with an open distance learning (ODL) component. This programme will commence in July 2009.

The course aims at creating awareness, knowledge and professional skills in the discipline.

Initially four centres will be activated in the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western regions of the country. Course material will be developed in collaboration with experts in the aviation sector.

The course objectives include development of technical professionals in the area of aeronautical engineering.

IGNOU has entered into a tie-up with the Aeronautical Engineering Research Organisation (AERO), Pune, to form a joint core group to oversee the planning and development of the programme and also to undertake and execute all such activities required for the fulfilment of the objectives described above.

AERO will set up fully-equipped office infrastructure for the project on the IGNOU campus. IGNOU has entered into a collaboration with the Dental Council of India (DCI) to launch two programmes in the open and distance learning mode from July 2008.

The programmes are of one year duration (30 credits each).

However, there is the flexibility to complete the programmes within three years. Both the programmes have been accredited by DCI. Since these programmes are through the open and distance learning education mode, one does not have to leave one’s established practices or work places except for the contact programmes. There is no age bar and fresh graduates can also apply.

Adnoc Abu Dhabi International Marathon 2018

The Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) announced, the inauguration of the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, which will be held, for the first time, on December 7, 2018, bringing the world’s oldest race to one of the world’s most modern cities, and deepening ADNOC’s commitment to the Abu Dhabi community.December 7, 2018